Mating can happen at any time of the year but the peak is February to May….the babies are born in the following spring, with a litter size of up to 5…. Usually a pair will mate for life sexual maturity in boars is usually between 12-15 months but it can be up to 2 years – sows normally begin to ovulate in their second year. On average there are roughly 6 adults in a family, although as many as 23 have been recorded. Some well established setts can be centuries old….īadgers sebduggan via / CC BY-NC-SA Original image URL: īadgers live together in groups the males are called ‘boars’ and the females ‘sows’…. They live in underground burrows, called setts, which they inherit from their parents each generation adds to and expands it…. Badgers are nocturnal, explaining why we see so little of them. On looking into the private life of a badger, it is surprising at how social this animal is – they value family, just as we do…. Even back as far as the early 1800s badger baiting was recognised as being cruel – The Cruelty to Animals Act 1835…. Once a popular blood sport, badger baiting is a completely barbaric act badgers are caught alive, put into boxes and dogs set upon them – totally senseless….just like all blood sports….not wishing to be controversial – but everyone’s entitled to an opinion…. Conviction for badger baiting can carry a 6 month jail sentence, a fine of up to £5,000 and a ban from keeping dogs…. The Protection of Badgers Act 1992 states it is an offence to interfere with a sett or take possession of a live badger (other than to assist an injured or sick animal)…. Part of the Mustelidae family, which includes otters, weasels and stoats, the badger has a status of ‘least concern’ in the conservation stakes there are some 250,000 adults in this country…. Badgers are native to all Europe and parts of West Asia – it is our largest land predator here in the UK. A few months ago John arrived home particularly late from work to find a badger sniffing around the back door….īadgers are one of our most beloved animals children’s tales often involve them – Wind in the Willows or Beatrix Potter for example….even Rupert the Bear…. It’s not the first time a badger has made itself known here…. I don’t blame this little fella for being terrified – Lewes can be a very scary cat sometimes….(although it’s a good job it wasn’t Lola)…. When threatened, a badger will give out deep growls, it will bark when surprised – but if it is truly frightened, it will scream in a piercing manner…. The noise the badger was emitting tells this tale…. Generally, badgers are peaceful animals, they do not go about picking fights with cats I can only assume the pair came across each other accidentally…. Thankfully, at John’s appearance, the fight instantly broke up and the badger scurried off neither animal appeared to have sustained any damage – Lewes can thank his lucky stars it was a young badger only a cat with suicidal tendencies will contemplate taking on an adult badger…. Assuming Lewes had got himself into a spot of bother with another cat, John shot outside – only to be confronted with Lewes, involved in a punch-up with a young badger…. The other night, during the wee hours, the whole household was awoken by the most almighty din outside….a blood curdling screaming…. Up until this point, this hasn’t worried me too much, as he doesn’t go far (unlike his sister) – he prefers to dither around in the garden…. Lewes, our ‘a little bit dim’, food obsessed cat has recently started to refuse to come in at night. Boy, was that chappie eager for his food….a bit like someone else we know…. It was during a visit to the British Wildlife Centre, near Lingfield, Surrey, when I was delighted that we had the opportunity to witness one of the resident badgers being fed…. When I did finally get to see a badger close-up for the first time, I was amazed at the power and strength of the creature…. Badger 25-07-09 Chris_Parfitt via / CC BY Original image URL: Actually, the badger (Meles meles) is one of the UK’s most widespread wild animals and just as common as the fox – just far more elusive…. I have only ever seen a live badger in the wild once – and that was just a fleeting glance….
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